Air travel is typically associated with comfort and convenience, yet encountering unpleasant surprises mid-flight can disrupt this expectation. Recently, an incident on an IndiGo flight has raised concerns regarding cleanliness and hygiene standards onboard.
A passenger shared a video on social media revealing a cluster of cockroaches in the food area of the plane.
The video, posted by journalist Tarun Shukla, aimed to prompt IndiGo to address the issue promptly and ensure such unhygienic experiences are avoided in the future.
Cockroaches and in the food area of a plane (anywhere for that matter) are just truly awful.
One hopes @IndiGo6E takes a hard look at its fleet and checks how did this even happen given that it normally flies relatively new @Airbus A320s :
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) February 22, 2024
Tarun expressed disappointment and urged the airline to investigate and take necessary measures. The post gained traction quickly, sparking public outcry over the hygiene conditions aboard IndiGo flights.
IndiGo says :
We are aware of the video that was circulated on social media showing an unclean corner in one of our aircraft.
Our staff promptly took the necessary action onboard. As a precautionary measure, we immediately cleaned the entire fleet and carried out fumigation…
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) February 22, 2024
In response to the viral video, IndiGo acknowledged the situation and assured immediate action. They tweeted that their staff promptly addressed the issue onboard, followed by a precautionary fleet-wide cleaning, fumigation, and disinfection process.
The airline has encountered insect-related situations before. In April of last year, a passenger recorded a video of a cockroach crawling on their table while they were eating. Another incident took place in October 2022, when a passenger noticed a cockroach inside a flight from Patna to Delhi
India's most profitable air carrier Indigo Airlines served me food and immediately cockroach appeared and had a bite too.
This is the same Airlines which never apologizes when there is a flight delay / cancel / excess baggage even by 1 kg.Now they are apologizing many a times… pic.twitter.com/xuc9JK3Hf3
— Sudipto Chowdhuri (@SudiptoTalks) April 7, 2023
The company emphasized their commitment to maintaining high cleanliness and hygiene standards for passenger safety and comfort.
Similar occurrences have been reported in the past, highlighting the importance of consistent surveillance and maintenance of hygiene standards in the aviation industry.